Chapter 06 – Canaan
Part 1
Sidele POV
A terrible thing happened yesterday. Lady Alterias, the daughter of Count Abbas (the governor of Algria town), was attacked by bandits and in mortal danger. This town is close to the Great Borf Forest, and the level of the surrounding monsters is pretty high, so there haven’t been any bandits for more than a decade.
At any rate, I heard the report that something strange had happened, but it was still a mystery, so I was immediately instructed to investigate this matter with the bandits. Recently, Count Abbas has been suffering, and I’m a little worried that he might be obsessed with something.
Fortunately, this time Lady Alterias was able to get away from the bandits. At the time they were most in danger, they claimed to have been helped by a young man wearing all black, with black hair. There are some black-haired people in this land, but if someone helped a daughter of the Count, they would expect to receive a reward, not just leave them like this man did.
Now that I think about it, I did hear something about the heroes summoned by the Rade-Crude Empire having black hair and black eyes. But I haven’t heard of any of them going to the town of Algria. The Templeton Kingdom, in which Algria is located, is not very well-connected to the countries that summoned the heroes.
Those countries have a similar way of thinking to the Rade-Crude Empire, which advocates for human supremacy. Templeton Kingdom is a country where races such as beastmen coexist with humans. In other words, the way of thinking and customs are different from the countries with principles of human supremacy. That’s why this Templeton Kingdom was placed outside of the mosquito net when the heroes were summoned.
Due to those circumstances, their relationship with those nations has been particularly strained in recent years, and the influx of human races from summoning nations has been monitored closely. In other words, if a hero entered this country, I would have heard something about it.
Who was that young man with black hair and black clothes that helped Alterias-sama?
“Chairman, there’s a customer here looking for rice.”
“Alright…”
At the mention of rice, I recalled hearing that the heroes’ staple food was rice, but… bread is a staple food in this town, and I only sell rice because there are a handful of rice lovers. Moreover, because those particular customers are wealthy and have a certain amount of power, they proposed I stock rice in my general store.
That’s why I went to the trouble of getting it for those people. Well, it’s a matter of pride anyway, even if it’s not profitable. Those rice lovers buy a lot of other things in my store, so if I can make a profit from their associated purchases, that’s a benefit for me.
Now, was the customer this time one of those rice lovers? I got up from my comfortable chair and headed to the rice section. I saw a strange sight there. Specifically, the customer was strange.
It’s hard to describe what’s strange about him, in any case… it’s just very peculiar. What I can say is he has an extraordinarily vague existence. It feels like he’s like a ghost wearing an intimidating jet black bear coat… Anyway, it’s just kind of mysterious.
When I focused on the customer’s appearance, I could see he was a young man with black hair and black eyes. Could this be him? I wondered, since some of his characteristics matched.
I went over to the guy, and he muttered an interesting thing after the rice was explained to him.
“This is a long thin variety-nya, and this one is an egg-shaped variety-nya.”
“The long thin one is thai rice… and the egg-shaped variety here is japonica rice!”
Japonica rice… this was one word the heroes were reported to have often said. In other words, there’s no mistake that this young man looking for rice in front of me has some kind of relation to the heroes.
Name : Tsukuru Sumeragi
Job : Chef
Level 20
Skills :
[Cooking]
[Ignition]
[Dismantling]
[Appraisal]
[Material Storage]
I used [Appraisal] involuntarily. The young man’s status was just like any ordinary [Chef] you’d find anywhere. However, my intuition was telling me there was something strange about him. Everything seemed normal, so what was this strange feeling coming from, I wonder?
So this time I tried to use [Appraisal] on the sword the young man was carrying by his waist, but the text was garbled. I don’t mean to boast, but my occupation is [Great Merchant], and whenever I activated the [Appraisal] skill from the [Great Merchant] job, it never failed like this… until now.
It’s weird! That’s why I then tried to appraise the black bear coat he was wearing, but the text was garbled on that one too. What could it mean…
“Give me ten bags of the egg-shaped one.”
“Thank you-nya!”
“Oh my, thanks for buying so much.”
I called out to the boy just like that, not even thinking. Well, I was thinking I needed to confirm his identity, and above all, find out his purpose.
“Hmm? Who are you?”
“I’m Sidele, I’m the chairman of Sidele’s General Store.”
“Is there something you want from me, Mr. Chairman?”
“No, not at all, You’ve purchased our rice, so I thought it would be good to greet you personally. By the way, is it your first visit to this store?”
“Yeah, I just arrived in town yesterday.”
The same day as the bandit attack on Lady Alterias. There’s no mistake.
“Really? Then I’ll be looking forward to your patronage in the future.”
“I’ll come back if the rice is delicious.”
“Certainly, I’ll be waiting. Prill, prepare the goods for this gentleman.”
“Yes-nya!”
“It’s okay, I can take the ten bags from here.”
The ten bags of rice vanished right in front of my eyes. Sure, he does have a skill called [Material Storage], but he couldn’t possibly store that much rice with it. I’m pretty sure you’d need a decent item box to store this much rice, but it doesn’t look like he’s wearing such an item… though the garbled text on his equipment is still bothering me.
“Oh, you have an item box?”
“Something like that. Now, where can I pay for this?”
Was that a yes or a no? Well, it’s fine. I’ve gotten a decent amount of information for one sale.
After he left, I decided to look around the store for a while, and instructed the employees to report to me as soon as that black-haired young man showed up again. That slave arrived this morning, and the black-haired young man also appeared, so it set the wheels turning in my mind that something interesting might happen.
Anyway, I should go back to the office and check on the documents. I did think that boy would come to the store again sometime, but it happened when I was just passing by the counter.
“Oh? If it isn’t the young man from before! What are you looking for this time?”
I called out to him quickly. I couldn’t call myself a good merchant if I missed this opportunity.
“Sorry for coming back so quickly, I just want to get some pots and tableware.”
“That’ll be on the third floor. I’ll take you right to them.”
I guided him up the stairs to the third floor. Recently, when I go upstairs, maybe because of my age, I’ll feel a little out of breath. I’m a dog beastman, so I have a certain amount of confidence in my physical strength, but if a couple flights of stairs is enough to leave me winded… old age must be finally catching up with me.
“Here we are.”
“Welcome― ah, owner!”
“Don’t call me owner, call me the chairman!”
“Okay~”
Geez, this girl, she always calls me owner. I still have to get the proper way of doing things into their heads. The young man just looked at us with a bemused smile and started looking over the products. He browsed the pot section for a while, then stopped in front of a certain item.
“Do you like that magic pressure cooker?”
“Magic pressure cooker… no, I just thought it seemed rather unusual.”
“Do you know about them?”
“Only a little bit.”
Oh ho, but the magic pressure cooker is a brand new product that was only recently invented. Hearing that makes me want to know him more and more.
He bought an assortment of pots, pans, and tableware.
“Thank you for your patronage.”
“Man, Mr. Sidele’s shop sure has a wide selection of items, huh?”
“Our shop is proud to handle everything from food to slaves, yes.”
“S-Slave… You carry slaves, too?”
Oh? Is he interested in slaves, too? Well then, in that case!
“Yes, please have a look! Right this way!”
“Uh, no no no, I…”
“It’s okay to just take a look!”
I may have been a little pushy, but I took him to the basement floor where the slave section was.
“We handle sales, purchases, and rentals of slaves here.”
“Rental? So you lend slaves, too?”
“Yes, well, you don’t seem to know much about slavery, so let me explain it.”
“O-oh. Please do.”
I’ll teach him the basics of slavery a little bit, but he seem a little nervous.
“There are two kinds of slaves, general slaves and criminal slaves――”
He looked at the slaves while I explained things. After I finished, I watched him look at the slaves with interest.
“What do you think?”
“Does this store also deal with criminal slaves?”
Yes, that’s it!
“We do handle them, but there aren’t many. Would you like to see the criminal slaves as well?”
The fate of a criminal slave is often terrible. That’s why I didn’t deal with them very much, even though they’re highly profitable since they’re always in demand. As a merchant, I shouldn’t let my emotions get in the way of profits, but it’s my belief to treat every product with affection. I don’t want to be the one to inflict a terrible future onto a person, even if they are a criminal slave.
“I’d like you to show them to me, just for reference.”
As he wished, I guided him to the criminal slave section, past the heavy door in the back.
“Hahaha! A youngster, huh?”
“Hey bro, why don’t you buy me, I’ll show you a good time, eh?”
One slave spoke up rudely, and another tried to whore himself into being purchased.
“Shut up!”
Talking to customers is prohibited. Slaves are to follow the rules strictly.
“These are criminal slaves. Bandit leaders, and perpetrators of heinous crimes such as murder and attempted murder. Rather than imposing long-term prison sentences on these people, they’re made into slaves and serve society by doing harsh and dangerous work in the place of ordinary people.”
“What kind of harsh and dangerous work are we talking about? Stuff like mining and warfare?”
“That’s exactly right.”
Few people own criminal slaves. The most common owners are feudal lords, and then most merchants who own mines, but adventurers and mercenaries also buy criminal slaves on occasion. Criminal slaves, which are cheap and have no human rights, are always in high demand because they can be used as disposable labor in harsh environments. Unfortunately, the dignity of criminal slaves is not recognized or protected, unlike general slaves.
Meanwhile, his gaze stopped at a certain point. That girl was a criminal slave that just arrived today. Moreover, she probably became a criminal slave because of false accusations. She is my friend’s daughter. Unfortunately, my friend passed away two years ago, but I’ve still known this girl since she was a child. She’s not capable of committing the kind of evil she was accused of!
“What about that girl?”
“She…”
What should I say? A sinner who killed a noble’s son? That she was found guilty of having killed a noble’s son, even though she was falsely accused? She wouldn’t be freed from her status as a criminal slave for the rest of her life, unless her innocence could be proven…
“She just arrived today, but… she was serving as a magician in a noble house, but there was an incident in which the nobles’ child was killed. She was nearby at that time, and was named the culprit…”
“Do you think she wasn’t actually the culprit?”
“I don’t know. I don’t understand the details, but she was found guilty at the trial.”
“Hmm.”
Perhaps I could entrust her to this man decked out in black. It’s a shame to sell such an important slave to someone I’d just met for the first time, but… my intuition demanded I appealed this to him.
“Master Sidele! I want to buy Canaan!”
And now the worst person showed up. He pushed the black-haired young man aside and called out to me. I could tell the young man was incensed at his behavior.
“That’s… Master Dokum, huh? You’ve been coming by so often these days…”
This man serves the feudal lord, his name is Dokum. He’s the worst kind of person, relying on his position as head magician to harass the weak.
“Enough chit-chat! I’ve come to buy Canaan there!”
If there’s anyone I can’t sell her to, it’s him!
“I apologize, Canaan…”
I unconsciously glanced at the black hair young man.
“Huh? What? …Hey, who are you?”
Dokum just noticed the black-haired young man, and called out to him, but continued with his rude attitude.
“That’s my line. You’re so impudent, even though I was the one talking to Sidele first.”
“What? You little―!”
The black-haired man replied without holding back. Is he unaware of how scary this Dokum guy is, or does he have the kind of connections that mean he doesn’t need to worry?
“Sidele. Shouldn’t I be the one to buy Canaan?”
I hadn’t said anything, but he must have sensed my intentions.
“Y-yes… Master Dokum, I already agreed to sell her to this customer… Yes…”
“What are you talking about! Wasn’t it already settled that I’d be the one to buy her?!”
“Is that the case?” The other man asked, tilting his head to confirm it.
“N-no, erm, Master Dokum, I promised this customer before you arrived, he’ll be the one to buy her, alright?”
“What did you just say to me!?”
“So noisy, can’t you use your inside voice? Jeez, this guy doesn’t seem to have any common sense at all.”
“Y-you bastard!”
To be perfectly frank, I didn’t like Dokum either, so I didn’t mind it. I had to settle this matter right away. After that, Dokum was indignant and approached me, but he had no ability to persuade me since I was friendly with the feudal lord. When Dokum left, the black-haired young man put his arm around my shoulder and said, “You owe me one.”
He seems to be quite the determined gentleman.
“Yes. I, Sidele, always repay my debts.”
“I hope so.”
I sold Canaan to Tsukuru Sumeragi-sama for 500,000 Gold and performed the slave contract. Sumeragi-sama gave clothes and shoes to a shabby-looking Canaan, and wrapped her in a black coat before leaving.
I would like to have a long and fruitful relationship with Mr. Sumeragi in the future. And… I pray that Canaan will find her light.
Part 2
Hahaha, I didn’t actually buy the slave as a favor, I just caught up in the moment. Thanks to that, I’m broke now, and since she’s a criminal slave, I can’t free her without some kind of special permission, and I’ll also have to revise my plans for the future.
Right now I need to make some more money, but what happened to this girl to make her eyes look dead…
I heard some of the story from Sidele about how Canaan fell into slavery. I didn’t think she did it either, but she had already been found guilty, so it’s kind of a pitiful story. Or maybe she did kill that noble’s child… if that were the case, what would I do?
(What are you going to do with her?)
(Yeah, what do you think I should do?)
(Well first of all, you won’t be able to talk to her if you don’t restore her sanity.)
(I don’t know how to do that, though?)
(She has been mentally weakened and secluded herself inside her own mind, isn’t that kind of like having a status debuff?)
(In other words, I can cure her with [Recovery Meal], huh?)
(Maybe, but if that doesn’t work, you should just try something else.)
(You’re right, let’s at least try it.)
I took out a reasonably-sized lump of meat from [Material Storage] and cooked it with [Ultimate Cooking]. Lately, when I use that skill, if I’m thinking a lot about something, related effects will also become stronger, so I tried to carefully think about an effect for recovering from mental damage. As I said before, [Ultimate Cooking] allows me to set the strength of the effect, but now it’s possible to control the effect itself to some extent, just by thinking about it.
Therefore, if I got something that can raise, say, my [STR] attribute, I can decide whether the effect will increase the rank temporarily or permanently. For some reason, I didn’t realize I could do this until I was already over level 300.
Until that point, the effects that appeared from [Ultimate Cooking] had been random, such as learning skills and permanently ranking up attributes, but now I could set the effect consciously. I still have no idea how that’s actually possible or how it works, and I’m not going to bother trying to find out; it’s already convenient enough for my needs.
“Hey, eat this.”
I put the grilled meat on a plate, and a knife and fork on the desk. Now that I’m in my room at the inn room, there’s a small desk and chair, and Canaan was sitting on the floor, rather than the chair. I told her to relax after entering the room, but since she was a slave, she sat on the floor with uncertainty in her eyes.
Right now she’s so dirty that it’s hard to tell, but there’s probably a beautiful girl underneath all that grime, so I’d like to clean her up. I’m just concerned about whether it’s okay for me to wipe down a girl’s body like that.
Canaan then tried to sit on the floor with the plate and eat with her hands.
“Hey, eat your food at the desk.”
“Slave… eat… floor…”
As is often the case in light novels and stuff, slaves are supposed to eat on the floor. That might only be for criminal slaves, though, rather than general slaves.
“I don’t know anything about that. Sit in the chair and eat on the desk. You can use a knife and fork, right? There’s no need to eat with your hands.”
Because it was an order, Canaan sat on the chair and started eating the meat with a knife and fork. She was familiar with handling cutlery, and ate the meat almost silently. Compared to me, she ate very elegantly. There was no change in her mood after she finished, but… for now, I decided to let her get some rest and see how it went.
I left the inn late in the evening. Canaan had been sleeping soundly since her meal, so I left her in my room.
(Three in front, two behind.)
(Oh, I didn’t expect him to attack me immediately after I bought Canaan.)
(Hehehe, I think it’s because they have so much power and connections.)
This is definitely arranged by that Dokum guy from the Sidele’s General Store basement. The quality of stealth is obviously lower than the presence that had followed me since morning. Perhaps they’re better at ruffian matters than stealth.
But it’s not a good idea to get attacked here and cause a fuss. I don’t have any connections in this town, so if I make a big deal of this, I’m more likely to be overwhelmed by Dokum’s power and connections. In that case, I guess it’s okay to wipe out Dokum and his connections all at once.
I slipped into a side street like a back alley and took off my bear coat, replacing it with the hermit’s coat. My current level is over 300, so no one would recognize me while I had that on. If anyone capable of that was around, he’d be conquering the world by now.
The three people that were previously in front, chased me into the back alley, but since I wasn’t there, they looked around for me. I’m actually right in front of them, but they don’t recognize me, so while they went back and forth in the alley, two more people joined them to look for me.
They might be just underlings, but because I’m their target, it’s perfectly acceptable to deal with them accordingly. A dry snapping sound echoed through the alley five consecutive times. The pursuers’ forehead were left swollen and blue ― the sound was, after all, from a simple flick on the forehead.
The attack knocked them out instantly, and when I looked through their pockets, I found pouches with silver or copper coins, which I took for myself.
(You totally look like a thief.)
(Don’t say it like that, you can’t live in a society without having your priorities in order.)
(I know. There’s nothing wrong with them getting hurt like that, anyway.)
(Yes, of course, I’m teaching these guys how harsh this world really is.)
I carefully checked them over for anything else, but there was nothing on them other than their dull weapons. I took everything.
After that, I returned to the inn. Canaan was sleeping quietly, and it didn’t seem like she was anywhere close to waking up. She must have been quite exhausted.
So, I decided to cook the rice I bought today. I say that, but I don’t exactly have a stove lying around, so I’d be heating it with [Ultimate Cooking] instead. Since the rice grains weren’t polished yet, I performed that step with [Ultimate Cooking] first.
It was transformed into beautiful white grains of rice and persimmons, which I took out of the bag and threw into [Material Storage]. I added water to a pot with [Spring Water], poured in the rice, and washed it about three times, throwing away the water. I added the delicious water full of nutrients from Ellyn River at the end and boiled it with [Ultimate Cooking]. Ellyn River water tastes even better than the water from [Spring Water], so if I cooked the rice with that, it would definitely be even more delicious.
The rice in the pot cooked in the blink of an eye, hot steam rising from it. The sweet and delicious smell tickled my nose, and I placed the cooked rice into a deep plate similar to a rice bowl. Then I made a stir-fry with wild boar monster meat and some vegetables, placing it on the desk as a side dish.
“Let’s dig in.”
I scooped up the rice with chopsticks. I happened to see them in Sidele’s General Store, so of course I bought them. When I brought the rice into my mouth ― oh! It was delicious! Since it’s from a different world, I didn’t expect it to taste the same, but it’s still delicious. It’s good rice, with moderate stickiness and sweetness, and a slight amount of bitterness. You can take that to mean it’s comparable to the best rice in the world.
I never thought I’d be able to eat rice like this here. I’m probably shedding a few tears.
While I was impressed by the delicious rice and stir-fried meat and vegetables, I noticed Canaan in the corner of my eye, who was supposed to be lying on the bed asleep.
“…You want some?”
She nodded. I served her the rice on a flat plate. I handed over a fork and a knife assuming she wouldn’t know how to use chopsticks, and she skillfully scooped up the rice on the fork and carried it to her mouth.
“Is it tasty?”
She nodded again. Since I cooked about six liters of rice, there was plenty to go around, even two people wouldn’t be able to eat it all.
I smacked my lips, preparing to savor this meal after going such a long time without rice, and Canaan was totally absorbed in shoving more and more rice into her mouth. After a while, all six liters of cooked rice had vanished, devoured by the two of us. Even the large portion of stir-fried meat and vegetables had been consumed.
Surprisingly, most of the food ended up in Canaan’s belly, as she inhaled more than five liters of rice and most of the stir-fried meat and vegetables all on her own. I never thought we’d go through it all so quickly.
Honestly, I didn’t think it would vanish that quickly. I was surprised at Canaan’s appetite, and even offered her my share. Before I was summoned to this world, I once watched a televised eating contest, but… I’m sorry, compared to Canaan, those contestants were mere average gluttons.
She started to doze off again after she finished eating, so I ordered her to sleep in the bed. As far as I could tell, the effect of [Recovery Meal] was probably working ― a glimmer of light was showing in her eyes. I believed she would improve even more if I waited a little longer.
(She sure ate a lot, is Canaan really a human?)
(…I’m pretty sure she is. In my world, there were people who would eat massive amounts of food like Canaan just did.)
(I’m surprised to hear that. Your world was a terrifying place too, huh?)
(Not really. If you really look around, even this world must have a number of people with unique talents.)
When I woke up the next morning, Canaan was already awake.
“Good morning, Master.” [TLN: Goshujinsama]
She actually talked to me. Moreover, her eyes looked confident.
“Good morning. How do you feel?”
“Right, I feel good. It’s like everything I went through before was just a lie.”
Canaan’s smile dazzled me.
“Really? Well, I’m glad to hear it.”
Apparently, [Recovery Meal] did a really good job. I got out of bed and stretched, then the two of us went to wash our faces in the well behind the inn. Canaan looked particularly dirty, so I told her to wash properly. I wanted to take a bath somewhere.
We went back to the room to have breakfast. I could eat my own food now, so I just paid for my room without a meal. I thought about making breakfast rice, but I didn’t have miso soup, so I just made bread. Miso can be made from wheat, but I like soy miso better, so I held out for that.
If I find soybeans, I can make it myself, so let’s ask Sidele later. That said, if I don’t make any money today, I can’t say anything about the soybeans. I got a little money from the guys who attacked me, but it wasn’t a whole lot, so I should prioritize making money for a while. Indeed, I’ll have to persistently find a way to make money from now on.
(Hey, do you have any good ideas for making money?)
(Shouldn’t you be able to just sell monster materials? Anything from the Great Borf Forest should go for a high price.)
(Somehow I’d already figured that. Guess I was right, huh?)
(Of course. Who would enter a forest where monsters over level 100 monsters are roaming around? It’s a dangerous area that no one can enter unless you’re a hero or someone who already did a limit break.)
(For now, I would like to make selling Great Borf Forest materials a last resort. Any other ideas?)
(Why don’t you register with the Adventurer’s Guild or Mercenary Guild and hunt down surrounding monsters?)
What should I do? Do I really have to follow the standard light novel tropes with some Adventurer’s Guild or Mercenary Guild?
(Anything else? That seems like a lot of trouble.)
If I register in some cliché guild, I feel like I’ll just have the same cliché problems.
(Fine, if you’re gonna be like that! How about you make full use of your occupation and sell food!)
(That’s the one, let’s do that!)
Part 3
Canaan POV
How did this happen to me? I tried so hard to fulfill my duties, and I pledged allegiance to the lord… but now I’ve been imprisoned for the murder of the lord’s son, Master Dolce.
That day, it’s true that I was near Master Dolce’s body. But I heard Master Dolce being attacked by someone, so it was a terrible accusation to say I was the one who killed him. In the end, I was found guilty in court.
Why? Even though I haven’t done anything! It’s all because of that man who called me there and came out with false evidence. I heard his voice, so I headed to where Master Dolce’s incident occurred, only to find his corpse. The one who showed up at the scene right after me was Master Dokum.
Master Dokum has a renowned position as chief magician in the house of Count Abbas, but I didn’t like him very much because I never heard any good rumors about him. Master Dokum is the reason I was arrested and thrown in prison, and the reason I’m here now.
For some reason, I was convicted of killing Master Dolce, the son and heir of the Count family, but I became a criminal slave. I know that if someone killed a commoner, they would fall into slavery, but it’s strange that even though I was convicted of killing the heir to the Count’s family, my penalty was slavery instead of death.
I spent a few days in prison. The meals were rarely given, and what was given tasted horrible. Even our water was dirty.
Why did this happen…
What did I do to them…
Aaahhh…
Before I knew it, I was being moved somewhere by carriage.
Aaahhh…
When I came to my senses again, a young man with black hair and eyes offered me food. So he’s the master who bought me… What will happen to me now?
Criminal slaves have no rights. They’re not even treated as human beings, like general slaves. They’re like livestock, or worse.
The master ordered me to eat at the desk. It’s so delicious… is it delicious because I’m so hungry, or is it that it’s something I’ve never eaten before?
I lost consciousness again, after filling up my stomach for the first time in a long time.
I’m… on the bed? I… as a criminal slave… there’s no way I can sleep on a bed. It must be a dream… Then I saw a young man with black hair eating in front of me in this dark room. Ah, our eyes met.
“…You want some?”
It smelled so good I unconsciously nodded. When I sat in the chair, the young man gave me something white. Was this rice? I ate it several times at banquets by Count Abbas, but it wasn’t that good.
I brought it to my mouth with a fork. Hm! Oh, it’s delicious! The difference between this rice and the Count’s rice was like heaven and earth. It had a faintly sweet fragrance reflected in the flavor, along with umami* that spread through your mouth as you chewed. The stir-fried meat and vegetables went very well with it.
I ate it innocently. I felt like it was the first time in my life I’d eaten such delicious food. My stomach was full, so once again I fell prey to fatigue…
The morning sun wrapped me gently, and I felt that I had a very pleasant morning for the first time in a while. …Ah, I’m a slave now… I’m on the bed… but on the bed next to me… it’s like there’s someone there…
When I looked closely, the black-haired young man was sleeping.
This young man is the master who bought me… but it’s kind of hard to recognize him. Is he activating any skills?
Anyway, that black hair was beautiful. It was the first time I’d seen such beautiful black hair. If I touch it, I’ll be scolded, won’t I? But somehow my hand appeared naturally on the hair that seemed comfortable to touch.
It’s so soft. Such smooth and silky hair… it’s enviable. My hair is not so pleasant because it’s curly and stiff and wavy. I noticed my master turn around a while after I touched his beautiful black hair.
What kind of punishment was waiting for me if he saw such a scene? For that reason, I suppressed my desire to touch it more and just watched the master’s sleeping face. That’s…? Come to think of it… When was the last time I could think so clearly?
And then, Master woke up.
“Good morning, Master.”
The way he looked at me, still half asleep, with the morning sun peeking through the window behind him, was dazzling.
“Good morning. How do you feel?”
“Right, I feel good. It’s like everything I went through before was just a lie.”
For some reason, it naturally makes him smile. I’m just a slave, but…
“Really? Well, I’m glad to hear it.”
After Master got out of bed and stretched, we went to the well behind the inn and washed our faces. I realized then, I guess I look pretty bad, don’t I?
I couldn’t remember how long it had been since the last time I washed my body. I smell, don’t I…? Eh, Master must be thinking I smell!?
When I returned to the room, Master had prepared a meal. Eh? Where is it all coming from? Does he have an item box?
The meal he prepared was delicious, and I ate too much of it. Come to think of it, I also ate something delicious last night but… I can’t remember it at all, my memory is so vague.
“Now that I think about it, I haven’t told you my name yet. I’m Tsukuru Sumeragi. I bought you yesterday.”
“Ah, yes. My name is Canaan. Thank you very much. Master!”
“To tell you the truth, I’m completely out of money right now!”
“…Eh?”
“That’s why we need to go out and make some money.”
I couldn’t help pausing for a second before saying, “Yes…”
“Fortunately, I’m a [Chef], so I think I can make some money by selling food. I want you to help me out with that.”
Seriously! Did he buy a slave when he didn’t have any money!? That’s dangerous, this master is crazy! And so, since Master is a [Chef], that’s why we’ll be selling food? Well, if we can sell it that easily, we won’t have any trouble!
“For now, I’m going to go to Sidele place and consult him about this.”
“Eh? Sidele? That’s…”
“Sidele of Sidele’s General Store. It’s a big store, you’ve heard of it, right?”
I have! Is Master acquainted with uncle Sidele? He was a friend of my father, who passed away two years ago, and I remember playing well with him since I was a child. He was very nice to me at my father’s funeral, he’s a kind old man who cared about me after I became so lonely.
“Yes, I know about it!”
*a category of taste in food (besides sweet, sour, salt, and bitter), corresponding to the flavor of glutamates, especially monosodium glutamate
Bound Pleasures 
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